Chances of keeping growers market at parking lot are looking good

Thursday, June 13, 2013

We approve of the sentiment that members of the West Chester Borough Council’s finance committee expressed this week with regards to the parking lot on West Chestnut Street that has become the home of the West Chester Growers Market and a vibrant hub of the borough community. Committee members said they were leaning towards keeping the lot as it is rather than selling it to a developer or leasing it to a parking agent.

And we congratulate those who worked so hard to show support for the market and its current location for providing the momentum and basis for the committee members to reach their decision. The committee gave a 3-0 recommendation Tuesday to pass on all the proposals that had been offered for the lot. The matter will go before the full Borough Council next week, and we would hope and expect that the other council members will follow the committee’s lead.

“It seems to me that our best play, our most prudent play, at this juncture would be to hold the lot in its current capacity,” said Councilman John Manion, who chairs the committee.

Earlier this year the borough issued a request for proposals from developers for the possible sale of the lot. After sending out the request, the borough received five offers ranging from $450,000 to $982,000 and one offer of a property trade. The offers ranged from keeping the property a public parking lot to developing it for residential and office uses. When paired with a study evaluating the potential income to the borough from a sale, officials said it was in the borough’s interest to keep the lot.

“When we ran that analysis through and through and it actually does not look to be that attractive of a deal,” Manion said.

In May, borough officials decided to seek an independent appraisal of the lot. Though the committee decided to not pursue any proposal, it decided to continue with the appraisal, which will cost about $1,500. The results of the appraisal should be back next month. Councilman Jordan Norley, a committee member, agreed with Manion, adding that unless the appraisal comes back substantially higher than expected, the borough should maintain the lot. “We will move forward with the appraisal so we know what that looks like,” Norley said.

The lot sits at the corner of West Chestnut and North Church streets and is the current location of the West Chester Growers Market. When the borough opened up a request for proposals on the property, residents became concerned at the thought of possibly losing the lot and market. People came out to voice concerns over the loss of the market’s home, and many cited a message from the Business Improvement District, whose members voted that the lot should be maintained as it is an asset to the borough for employees and visitors.

We hope that we will be shopping at the market every Saturday morning for many years to come.